Blair Evil - The Silence will be broken
by Mark 'Manix' Odell
Summary: Leon & Claire go to Burkittsville to investigate possible Umbrella activity in a variety of disappearances...but they find far more than they bargain for...This is based on the fictional LEGEND of the Blair Witch, not any of the films! Please R&R!
1. Welcome to Burkittsville

10 miles from Burkittsville

11:58pm

It was cold, Leon could feel the cold even though the 4x4 was heated – he didn't know, maybe it was outside cold or some other cold he didn't know about. He didn't care though, he was driving, that was the important thing.

It was about midnight, and he had taken the nightshift to drive. Claire mumbled softly in her sleep, her head resting against his shoulder. 

Leon smiled softly as he looked at her asleep. She looked quite sweet like that – He always found her very attractive. 

Where they were going was something of a mystery though – Leon had never heard of Burkittsville, neither had he ever heard of a village called Blair that used to be there. Leon had done some minute research into the town, had brushed up a little on its history and had prepared excuses for any suspicious questions. Ever since those three kids disappeared in 1994, the whole town seemed to be more than a little suspicious of anybody who came into town, since Private Investigators became extremely unpopular after a manhunt that had lasted several years.

The only reason they were going was because one of Chris's mystery informants had called from there, telling them that something strange was going on. Umbrella had been the main suspects, but since they hadn't actually bothered them for a while now, Umbrella were now the most unlikely suspects, especially since the informant had told them Umbrella didn't have a branch in the area.

Stay on your toes, Chris had said, regardless of what he says I don't doubt Umbrella may appear at some point. 

Leon had volunteered to go, and then so had Claire. Claire and Leon were alone on this one, so Leon decided to use the opportunity to try and find out how she really felt about him.

The town they were going to had more than a slightly murky history – The history of murder, disappearances and ritual sacrifice had rattled Leon's cage. The endless disappearances in the Black Hills Forests made him like the place less and less as the distance between them and the town shrank. There had been that Hermit too…what was his name? Rustin Parr? Executed in 1941 for the murder of several children. That was sick, he thought, what kind of a place breeds those kinds of people? 

The guy had apparently claimed involvement from some kind of witch…but Leon didn't believe in folklore, everything they'd seen so far had been created by human hands. He didn't know why, but somehow a showdown with a T-03 Tyrant seemed more attractive than investigating the problems they'd been having in this small town. Recently, more people had been going missing, such as a bunch of weird students who'd been setting up a tourist trade there…

He tried not to think about the thing. For now, concentrate on the road, Kennedy. There was a gentle sigh from Claire as she blinked herself awake.

"Mmm…wh…what time is it?" she asked, fuzzily. 

"Almost midnight" Leon replied "we're nearly there"

"Has it taken us all this time to get here?"

"Well, it is quite a long way"

Claire nodded, and looked out onto the dark road ahead, blinking herself further awake.

"So…Burkittsville, huh?"

"Yep"

"What do you think?"

Leon shrugged.

"Well if you want my honest opinion, we shouldn't really be here – This town has a history, Claire, and not a pleasant one"

She nodded again.

"Well, screw the town, we're only planning to stay here for three days – No more, no less"

"Fine" Leon reluctantly conceded "Let's just go over our procedures – Got the forged papers?"

Claire nodded, patting the small satchel that sat by her feet. Chris had interesting contacts, Leon reflected, he had saved the life of a forger in a bank shoot-out once and the guy had paid him back by promising to give him any kinds of forged documentation he needed – Which had come in handy now.

"Right here. So who are we?" It was a rhetorical question, they'd rehearsed their identities six or seven times, but this was the last test run. They wouldn't be able to practice again after this – after they got there, rehearsal would be impossible.

"We're a boyfriend and girlfriend, hoping to get married and we're on a short holiday in the area"

'Not so far from the truth' both of them thought in perfect unison 'Except that the other half doesn't know that yet'

"I'm Sam Myles, and you are…?" 

Claire smiled.

"Amy Stanton" 

"Good one" he smiled back at her "We'll do just fine"

"Remember" she said, as Leon pulled the car off onto the road that took them straight towards Burkittsville "That we've got to pretend to be ignorant of everything that's happened here over the last couple of years"

"Right. Got the video camera and tape recorder?" Leon asked.

"They're in the back with our luggage and weapons" Claire said.

"Of course- Two shotguns, plenty of ammo, a magnum with plenty of ammo and my Desert Eagle plus enough rounds to blast away half a town"

"Although hopefully we won't be needing them" Claire remarked "A holidaying couple with weaponry might be treated with some suspicion" the last part of sentence was heavy with humour. 

"Very funny Claire" Leon said "Very funny"

Claire giggled.

"Come on, relax – It's probably just nothing"

"You're right – But we'd better stay on our toes anyway"

She nodded.

"Right"

Holiday Inn

12:20am

The motel was a low building, it wasn't anything particularly special and neither was any of its interior design. It was a cosy looking building though, Leon thought as him and Claire dragged their bags in, quite exhausted. The receptionist, unlike so many motels on the way, was defiantly friendly in a 'I'm doing the best I can' kind of way.

The receptionist checked for their reservations, smiled and threw them the key.

"Have a good time" he said "Most visitors do!"

Claire and Leon garbled a thank you to the receptionist, and went into their chosen room. It wasn't a bad room at all, Claire noted as they threw their luggage down onto the floor.

"Only one bed" Leon said.

"Oh…" Claire almost blushed "What do you suggest?"

"Don't worry, I'll take the sofa" Leon said, smiling.

"Oh don't be silly! We can share the bed, it's not that much of a bind to sleep with-I mean, by me is it?"

"Not at all" Leon apologised as quickly as he could "It's just…well, it's not gentlemanly to-"

Claire shook her head, smiling.

"Honestly Leon, I know you're supposed to be a cop and all, but just let me decide what is gentlemanly and what isn't – And I say we share the bed"

Leon thought of protesting, but decided that in the long run it would be pointless.

"Sure" 

They both flopped down onto the bed, staring up at the painted white ceiling.

"What do you want to do right now?" Claire asked.

Leon nearly had a heart attack.

"Uh…"

"I think I could do with a drink"

Leon exhaled in relief. 

"Yeah, why not?"

Gretchen's Diner

12:40am

Gretchen's bar was one of those small war-era cafes that had barely changed since the 40s, although it had obviously received a new lick of paint and a somewhat tacky lighted sign on the front of the building which looked completely out of place. The town was surprisingly empty, considering it was both a Friday night and just after midnight. There were straggling groups of drunk teenagers wandering around, and there were a few others strolling up and down the pavements – Which was a mystery, since Leon didn't know many people who took to strolling up and down city streets just after midnight unless they were insomniacs.

Leon and Claire stepped inside, the bell jingled as they walked into the gloomy café. It was patronised by only a sedate drunkard and a very weary looking businessman.

Not only did the pair feel very out of place, but they weren't even sure they wanted to stay anymore.

"Sit down!" the woman who was sweeping the bar cheerfully announced "Do you want a drink?" 

"Uh, sure!" Claire replied.

"Coffee? Hot chocolate?"

"Hot chocolate" 

Coffee at this time of night seemed unwise to both of them.

"You too?" she asked Leon.

"Please"

They both sat down at the bar as the young lady prepared their drinks, and leaned expectantly on their elbows as she came back.

"Both of you going to be here for long?" 

"Not that long, only a couple of days"

She smiled.

"My name's Mandy – I own the bar"

"Mandy Gretchen?"

She shook her head.

"Nah. She was my grandma, she was the first person to own this building – It just seemed appropriate to keep her name where it belonged"

Leon nodded.

"Don't call me nosy or anything, but are you here on holiday?"

Leon nodded.

"That's right. Only for a couple of days – You see, we're hoping to get married and…"

"Oh I see! Well congratulations!"  
"Thanks" Claire replied, smiling happily. Pretending to be married to Leon was better than nothing.

"One of the better things that's happened around here lately" Mandy muttered in reply.

"I'm sorry?"

"Well, it all began in 1994 – Those poor kids! The families, can you imagine?"

Claire and Leon played an almost perfect impression of ignorance.

"Uh…We've never been here before, we wouldn't know"

"Well, if you want the short version of the story, in 1994 a bunch of kids disappeared in the Black Hills Forests while trying to film a high school project about this local legend of ours"

Legend?

"Which legend is that?" Claire asked, innocently. 

"Well, we got a witch hanging around here – She's called The Blair Witch after the town that she single-handedly scared the- if you pardon my French- the shit out of and the inhabitants fled, abandoning the town. About thirty-something years later, Burkittsville was founded on the spot where Blair used to be. People have died in mysterious circumstances ever since"

"And these students?" 

"Well, they relied on a hand drawn map – A hand drawn map! You'd have thought that they'd have got some real navigational equipment…But I can't say much I guess, I've never been out there, nobody wants to go out there anymore"

"Whoa…So…if we were planning a hike for one day…Would it possible for us to get hold of a map? A proper map?"

"If you went through the right channels, yeah – But nobody's tried to do any cartography on the area yet." 

"The right channels? What are they?" 

"The sheriff – But he never wants anybody to go anywhere near the Black Hills Forests anymore"

'Just as well we got the GPS tracker then' Leon thought, relieved 'Don't want to get lost in the woods' 

"So I don't recommend going anywhere near the forests – If they're haunted, I don't want to lose any customers!"

They laughed, softly. 

They drank their drinks fairly quietly – Under the bar, Claire made some shorthand notes on a small pad.

"Thanks for the drinks" Leon said, handing over a few notes. 

"And those wacko scientists have also been around"

This caught their attention once again.

"Wacko scientists?"

"Yeah, claimed to be naturalists – Turned out to be from this pharmaceuticals company doing some research"

They knew instinctively who it was. They didn't even bother to ask any questions, they played it cool and dumbly, paying for their drinks, saying goodbye and then walked out of the building.

They walked out into the partially lit street. 

"Umbrella – Just what were they doing here?" Claire asked.

"I don't know" Leon remarked "But I don't really want to know either"

"Right" Claire added "Let's get some sleep – I can see a long day ahead of us tomorrow"

Holiday Inn

2:40am

Leon was suddenly awake – And aware of the rain thundering down outside. He groaned, and rubbed his eyes.

Something had woken him up. He looked around the room. Nothing there apart from their discarded stuff that was scattered on the floor.

He could hear the thunder – But there was something else. It was a very faint sowing – coming from the bathroom. Curious, he climbed out of bed – and walked towards the bathroom. He reached down into his bag, rummaged under some of his clothes and quickly withdrew his Desert Eagle. Clutching it in both hands, he edged gingerly towards the door. With his foot, he gently pushed it open. Nothing. He stepped inside, and turned sharply round – When suddenly, as if it had been planned all along, a white, but not entirely material shape flowed over his head, flying out through the open door in a matter of seconds.

Leon let out a yelp as the shape passed over him, and he dropped to the floor. 

'What in god's sweet name was that?!' he thought, heart pounding hard.

He tried to rationalise what he'd seen – It hadn't been a bird, or bat or any kind of animal. The 'thing' had radiated cold in a worrying fashion, as if it had been in deep freeze for years. 

Leon ran out into the main room to look around for it. Not there, not anywhere – But just as he scanned the room, he saw faint wisps of white disappear through the crack between the door to the outside world and the doorjamb. 

"Leon, what the hell's going on?" 

He turned, and saw that Claire was awake, she'd been woken by his scream. 

"Do you think I'd be standing here looking confused as hell if I did? Something was in the bathroom, and it's just got out of the building"

Leon threw open the door, and ran out into the cold, wet night, bare feet pounding against the leafy ground. He stopped and looked around. Not a goddamn thing, the rain obscured anything from his view. Leon ran back inside, closing the door.

"Damn it, I swear that there's something out there"

"If there is" Claire said, pulling on her jeans "Then we'd better check it out"

Leon nodded, and began to get changed. Something in the night…

Both fully clothed, Claire packed her magnum, and stuck an extra two chambers in her pocket just in case. Leon grabbed a few extra clips for his own weapon, and they both looked at each other.

"When you're ready" Leon said.

Claire nodded, and she slammed open the door, both of them running out into the hammering rain.

She felt the rain beat down on her head, and she squinted up into the sky. 

Lightning flashed, and illuminated the whole town for a moment – Just for a moment.

"Come on" she said "Let's find the Police Station – I think we can find some help there" 

Leon nodded, agreeing.

"Come on, let's get there now – There's something about this town I don't like at all"

They didn't know where the station was, but in a town this small, they guessed it wouldn't be that hard to find. Their motel wasn't far from the main road, and along that was the Police station. It was, as they had both thought, small. So small in fact, that Leon wasn't surprised the local police had been unable to track down the missing students.

The minimal research he'd done into the case indicated to him that something was very wrong – There were towns everywhere in the USA, how could four students just quite literally disappear off the face of the earth?

Well, they had found some footage underneath a building in the woods…

That was somewhere to check out – The building had long since been 'demolished', but from what he'd read, it was still partially intact and could therefore provide both Claire and Leon with answers. Somehow, Leon had a feeling that Umbrella, while having small involvement somewhere here, were not in fact the perpetrators of this crime.

The town was silent, apart from the thunder and rain.

They both walked slowly towards the silent building. 

_It's just too quiet _Leon thought _And when a place is quiet, something's gone seriously wrong._

__They rushed up the steps past a squad car that sat by the steps, and pulled open the doors.

The doors creaked ominously as they yanked them open. There was a faint light that came from an office somewhere in the back – But apart from that, there were no other lights on. They stepped inside, closing the doors behind. 

It was quiet. This scared Leon. Police Stations were NEVER quiet, regardless of the time of day. 

"I've got a horrible sense of déjà vu" Claire muttered as they looked around "Remember Raccoon?"

Leon did remember Raccoon. And he remembered well the noiseless main hall.

They stepped forward cautiously, withdrawing their weapons slowly. A floorboard creaked under Leon's foot as he crept down the corridor. About twenty metres down was the main office, at least that's what the black stencilled writing on the illuminated window indicated, but there was a large extension that had obviously been added in post-wartime, and was most likely extra offices and jail cells. They reached the faintly glowing window.

Claire nodded at Leon, who twisted the handle. It was open, he pushed it inwards. The light was unnatural. Not bright…but it was an eerie glow that seemed to only illuminated the office as it felt it needed to – Some parts of it were in complete darkness. They both stepped inside, feeling a great chill in the air as they entered the office.

"Hey" Claire whispered, pointing down the office "It's the Sheriff" 

The Sheriff appeared to be facing the wall, not moving.

"Uh…" Leon coughed away a dry throat "Sheriff?"

No response.

"Sheriff?" Claire asked "We've got a problem…we…" her voice faded as the Sheriff turned around.

They froze. He wasn't a zombie…but then again, he wasn't human either. He had the misty white eyes of the zombie, and even though his skin looked like old paper he didn't appear to show any signs of deterioration.

Then, its mouth opened.

"_We are your sin…you are innocent…afraid…we are the harbingers…you are the victims…we shall reap the crop…run, children, run…_" the thing rasped, in a malevolent, cold and dry voice that made them both go rigid with fear.

"What…the hell are you?" Leon croaked.

"_We are your death…_" it hissed in its tomb-like voice again. 

"I think…" Claire said, quietly as the creature began to walk – walk, not lurched as they both realised – towards them "…That the time for talking is over"

Suddenly, to their surprise and horror, the creature leapt into the air as if it had graduated from The Matrix school of '99 and fell upon them, both of them letting out terrified yelps of fright. This was more frightening than anything any of them had seen before, and Leon pulled out his Desert Eagle, Claire her magnum, and they both fired at the hellspawn.

The thing took two shots from each of them, blood splattering against the floor as they fired into it. It fell on the floor, and died in a pool of blood.

Leon felt his heart pound with fear. He hadn't felt like this since the days of Raccoon City.

_So many bullets! It had taken that many?!_

"What the hell was that?!" Claire's voice was terrified, saturated with fear.

"I don't know, and I don't want to find out!" Leon replied, in the same tone of voice.

But as they left the office, it was clear they would never get out. 

The sounds were everywhere now, hissing spirits from inside and outside Leon's mind…

He wanted them to go away, desperate for them to go away.

_You will die, little boy…_the voices told him, growing in volume and intensity. It was now physically and mentally painful, and he clutched his head, trying to shut out the hissing, dead voices.

As he collapsed in the waiting room, he heard Claire scream. Two other zombie-like creatures, both in police uniform leapt onto her…he heard the gun fire…but the voices were too painful…so much pain…he couldn't take it, he was going insane. He wanted to save Claire…

"MAKE IT STOP!!" he screamed, kicking around on the floor like a wounded animal "PLEASE GOD, MAKE IT STOP!!!"

In his fit of fear, he turned to see Claire fall onto the floor…

No…

"CLAIRE!!!!!"

NO!!!

Leon sat up with a start, gasping for breath. His face was soaked with sweat, eyes suddenly wide and afraid.

Then, he realised where he was. Back in the motel? But how…?

It then dawned on him. A dream. It was only a dream. 

He turned, and saw Claire thrashing about underneath the bed-sheets, and heard her cry in her sleep

"No! Please…don't die Leon…No! Leave him alone!!"

Leon grabbed her, and she was suddenly wide awake. She stopped moving, and he saw the sweat on her face run as he held her to him.

She grabbed him, and held him tight.

"I was…so…afraid…" she gasped.

"It's okay, it was just a nightmare"

_Just a nightmare?_

He looked at her oddly. 

"Claire…what did you dream about?"

She wiped her face, and then looked him straight in the eyes.

"I dreamt that we saw a ghost in the motel…we ran out to the Sheriff's office, but the Sheriff had become a…a…a monster! Not just a zombie, this psycho-thing that could jump through the air – I swear! Then we ran out, and all these zombies started attacking us – You went down, I was being attacked too…"

"Oh my god…" Leon muttered "This can't be true"

"What can't?" she asked.

"I had exactly the same dream" he replied "You just described my dream step by step…"

"You're joking!"

"I swear, I'm not joking!"  
Leon jumped out of the bed, and allowed some air to get to his sweaty body. He went to the window, and looked out. It was raining, but there were some lights on. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"This town is infectious" he said, clutching the window sill "It gets into your mind – It's already got into ours. There's more to this town than meets the eye…there's something evil in Burkittsville, Claire"

She nodded.

"I feel it too"

"I say we investigate, whether or not Umbrella's involved – This town is cursed"

"Right – I say we start by looking around the house that belonged to Kyle Brody, one of the victims of the Rustin Parr murders in 1941" 

She'd been doing Leon's research with him. 

"Good idea. Let's get some sleep now" Leon remarked "Hopefully, no nightmares" he looked out of the window as he climbed back into bed with Claire "But I don't doubt this town will pay us a visit again"

**END OF PART ONE**

** **

****


	2. Bring on the night

Kyle Brody's House

Kyle Brody's House

10:00am

Leon and Claire stood in the cool morning, staring up at the dilapidated old house that had once been the Brody's residence.

The house looked in need of renovation, but they both suspected that nobody would be wanting to buy the house of the only survivor of a spate of child murders, who later went insane. 

The house was not that far from the main road, but that didn't make it any less creepy. The building was surrounded by a coldness that they both felt. It also had quite a large front garden, which meant they were still fifty plus metres from the main road.

After the dream, Leon was trying not to trust his emotions – but the house still gave him a strong sinking feeling that was hard to push away.

He heard Claire gulp.

"I don't like it…" Claire said "…I don't like it at all"

Neither Claire or Leon were the easiest people to be scared, Leon knew that Claire was tough as old boots and just as hard to terrify – But Claire herself was feeling pretty shaky. She didn't know quite what it was…but it was almost as bad as the feeling she'd had in Racoon. 

What _was it? Neither of them knew exactly for sure, the town was visually unspectacular, and there was nothing particularly creepy about the place during the day._

"Me neither" Leon replied "But we'd better look around anyway" 

They both walked up towards the ruined house, both taking comfort in the fact it had been abandoned for a very long time.

The door creaked open, and they were hit by a wall of musty air that made you cough just by breathing it in.

"Geez, somebody needs to leave a window open in here" Claire said, wrinkling her nose.

"Got any air freshener?" Leon grinned.

She rolled her eyes.

"As if – Got a vacuum cleaner?" she replied.

They both laughed. At least their sense of humour hadn't been entirely ruined by the town. 

Inside, it was like an antique house that had just been left to rot – Dust coated every surface, thicker in some places, but the house still had eerie imprints of its last owners. Underneath a layer of dust in the sitting room were dust coated chairs that had once been fine antique specimens but were now sadly lying in state of disrepair. On the mantelpiece was a photograph, now yellow with age. Leon gently removed it, and wiped the layer of dust from its surface. A family, mother, father and son. The son, presumably, was Kyle Brody.

"Is that the kid?" Claire asked, peering at the photo.

"Think so"

"The kid who never spoke after he was kidnapped by Rustin Parr?"

"Yep"

"Did he go…insane?"

"Unfortunately, yes"  
Claire sighed.

"Poor kid" she said "That's the definition of a poor life" 

Leon nodded, and replaced the photo.

The whole lower floor was either rotting or had deteriorated to such a point that it was barely worth looking at.

"Upstairs?" Claire indicated the stairs.

"Good idea – Maybe we can find Brody's room" 

Claire nodded, and they walked up to the stairs.

Leon looked doubtfully at the stairs. They were over fifty years old, and neither of them wanted the unique experience of going _through a set of stairs as opposed to up them. _

Thankfully, the planks didn't look like they were rotting – So they set off up the stairs. 

The wood creaked under their feet, and as they got to the top, they checked out the landing. 

Three doors. Claire peeked inside one.

"Huh. Just the parent's room. Nothing"

Leon tried the second door. 

"Store cupboard" he said, blankly, when he was greeted with the sight of a dusty wooden cupboard with a few practically unidentifiable objects inside.

The final door was obviously Kyle Brody's room.

Very slowly, Leon pushed it open, dust falling off it as it slowly opened. They stepped into the musty air of the room.

Their jaws dropped almost simultaneously, and Leon felt a warm tide of fear flow up through his body from the toe up.

The room was furnished with a table, bed…and about five hundred pieces of yellowing paper, each with demonic, screaming faces and unidentifiable scrawls that looked like nordic runes, and one dominant symbol that vaguely resembled a stickman.

There was a phrase, scribbled heavily across the thickly papered wall; 'LEAVE ME ALONE' 

"Leon…" Claire said "…I don't know how it is, but this…scares me"

"Yeah…" Leon murmured "…You're right. I don't like this Claire, I don't like this at all"

General Store

12:00pm

They were both very relieved to leave the house, after taking photos and filming the room, they made the very wise decision of getting out of there. More of Kyle Brody later, they both decided on the way back down into town, the woods were their primary concern.

Leon strode up to the counter of the only General Store Burkittsville had, and said as politely as he could manage

"Can I have a map of the Black Hill's forests?"

****The shopkeeper leaned over the counter, giving Leon his most mysterious and damning look.

"I've sold three maps of the Black Hill's Forest. Two of them went missing along with their owners"

"Who's the third guy then?" Claire asked, innocently.

The man grinned.

"Why, you of course" he said, indicating Leon.

Leon handed some money over, and the shopkeeper took it, hungrily, handing over a folded up piece of paper that resembled a map, which Leon tucked into his pocket.

"Although I'd be careful" he warned "The woods can be dangerous – There's talk of evil things in that forest…"

****Leon shook his head.

"Ah, I don't think we've got anything to worry about" he said, despite that his mind said otherwise.

The shopkeeper shrugged.

"Very well" he said "If you insist"

"He seemed a little uneasy about us" Claire said, as she and Leon walked across the pedestrian crossing, being persistently beeped at by several cars waiting behind the crossing "Do you think he's suspicious about us?"

Leon shook his head.

"Nah. Not possible, I mean we only arrived yesterday, I don't think word spreads that quickly around here" 

Claire looked around.

"Well, we're here – So I say we start to pack for our little 'hike'"

Leon nodded in agreement.

"Good idea" he said.

Holiday Inn

1:00pm

Claire finished packing the third pair of socks into her rucksack, and then pulled out the small GPS device they had bought in New York, pressing the ON button. There was a shrill beep, and the LCD display lit up, displaying various numbers and co-ordinates that Claire felt she would understand better if she had listened to her teachers in her Geography classes. Either that, or let Leon work it out.

"Uh…Leon?" she said, and Leon looked up, clicking the clips on his rucksack shut.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Do you know how this works? I'm not a new technology person"

Leon shrugged, and took it gently from her, and pressed a few buttons.

"Yep…" then he put on a California surfer twang "…I'm like totally up to date with the latest gizmos, dude"

Claire giggled.

"As long as your navigation skills are better than your surfer dude impersonation, I think we're safe!"

He grinned, and was suddenly surprised to feel her hand brush his leg. His skin tingled, and he looked at her. He was once again aware of her tremendous beauty, even in a pair of jeans and a shirt. She was, however wearing that sexy red jacket of hers that made Leon wilt every time he saw her.

He took her hand and squeezed it, encouragingly.

She smiled, the smile that he loved so dearly and made the clouds part when all seemed so gloomy.

Leon wanted to tell her how he felt, how things had changed, how he felt she looked…

He opened his mouth…and shut it again.

"Let's go" he said, mouth dry.

"Yes, let's" she replied, looking him in the eyes. 

Then, an uncontrollable urge made itself present in Leon, and without warning, he slipped his arms around her, staring into her eyes aggressively.

"I want you…" he whispered "Right here and now, I want you Claire, goddamnit"

She threw her arms around him, and kissed him full on the mouth, Claire feeling his tongue slip against hers, and then into her mouth. She gazed into his eyes, saw the deep primal lust for somebody permeate his eyes, witnessed the fires of love burning…for her…

"Then have me" she whispered in reply, and kissed him again "Have me right now…"

He began to unbutton her jacket as they kissed.

"This is so stupid…" he muttered as they kissed, yanking off her jacket.

"Right…" she replied through the kiss "…Then let's both be stupid for a couple of hours"

He pushed her down onto the bed, and unzipped her jeans, feeling her hands remove his shirt as she unbuttoned his own trousers.

"Why are you letting me do this?" he asked.

"Because I love you" she replied, gazing at him with her clear, beautiful eyes again. 

His mouth opened and shut, he didn't know what to say. 

"Ditto" he said, simply, and then fell on top of her, allowing himself to finally give in to the urges that had ravaged him ever since the end of their adventure in Raccoon City.

'I love you Claire' he thought, and then he said it.

"I love you too" she replied, as if to confirm her earlier statement. 

They finished about two hours later, Leon grunted for the last time, and collapsed on top of Claire.

They panted with exertion.

"Whoa…I've…never done that with you before" Claire gasped.

"I've never…done it with you either"

They lay there for a while, considering their options, and holding each other.

"It was…good, wasn't it?" Leon asked.

Claire smiled up at him.

"The best, Leon, the best" she kissed him on his lower lip.

"Thanks" he replied, and grinned boyishly "You weren't THAT bad"

He giggled as she playfully slapped him on the side of his neck.

"Come on" he whispered, stroking her chest "Let's get changed"

Black Rock Road

2:30pm

Claire shouldered her backpack, and looked up doubtfully into the dark woods. Sure, it was just a forest, but there was something about this particular forest that unsettled her. She was sure Leon felt it too, despite his cheery demeanour.

She turned to Leon, who was getting the GPS out of the car, and unloading his own backpack. 

"For the last time, are you sure this is necessary?" she asked, anxiously "It feels…bad"

He frowned

"Bad?" he asked.

"Bad" she replied "As in, this place is not a good place"

"Well, neither are Umbrella's labs – But that's never worried you in the past"

He sighed, looking at her worried expression.

"To tell you the truth, I'm spooked too. But if Umbrella scientists were out here, we should know what they were doing, whether or not this Blair Witch turns out to be real"

She nodded, smiling a little.

"I guess I'm just a little scared"

"Me too, baby, me too" 

He gently kissed her on the forehead, and adjusted her backpack. The wind was cool, but at least the sun was out in a clear blue sky. Perhaps, she thought as they locked up the car and trudged off the long, repetitive tarmac road and into the leaf mould that indicated the start of the Black Hills Forest, it would be okay after all.

They rested after about four hours of walking and chatting by a large tree, what kind Leon didn't notice, but it was very thick and extremely old from its look. Leon had made a note of their co-ordinates, and told Claire that it was quite easy to find their way back from where they were. Despite how confident he seemed, how he felt was another matter.

It was a mistake to go out into the woods. A total mistake.

Not because they could get lost or anything, what worried him was that the place, as Claire had said, felt bad. It was not a good place, the persistent darkness despite how bright it was loomed all around them. He was almost scared to see the sun go down and the night begin. He was also scared for Claire, she was as worried as he was, and both were beginning to doubt as to whether they'd find anything. The sun was setting, the reddish orange light slid slowly across the countryside and created odd shadows as it filtered through leafy branches which, had once seemed threatening, but now seemed mildly unpleasant.

"Tell you what" Leon said "Let's walk for another hour, see if we can spot anything, and then we'll camp down for the night, and walk back in the morning"

Claire nodded. She was afraid, Leon noticed. He was too…but how? He could feel it in his bones, as if something very old and unfamiliar was trying to give him a kick.

"What about Rustin Parr's house? Is that around here?"

"It might be" Leon remarked "And I'll see if I can work out where it is using the map tomorrow morning"

"Okay" Claire said, standing up "Let's walk"

Night swept across the landscape. Shadows became the all encompassing, and light was banished. Claire and Leon sat huddled in their tent, the halogen light illuminating the tent and their own shadows against the stretched material of the tent.

Leon held Claire by his side, enjoying the warmth of her body against his own, feeling her gentle breathing as her own arms were wrapped around his body.

"Leon…" she said slowly "What…do you think happened to those students who went missing here in 1994?"

"I…don't know. Really I have no idea"

"I'm not sure either…did the witch get them, or just some psycho with an axe and a grudge?"

"Who knows…but they barely had any idea where they were going"

She nodded.

"I guess so"

He rubbed her gently.

"You're freezing" he said "Why don't you get into your sleeping bag?"

She smiled softly, and nodded.

"Okay" she said, and pulled away from him, so that she could wrap herself up in her sleeping bag.

"Night" she said.

"Night" he whispered, and slipped into his own bag with a loud yawn.

Leon didn't know what woke him up. He just was. Checking his watch, he saw that it was 3:00am. 

Three in the morning? What prompted him to wake up this early?

As this mystery swirled around him, so did the light. He was pretty sure he wasn't dreaming this time, but there was something wrong. He looked around.

Leon looked at the side of the tent. A faint feeling of fear boiled up from his stomach, as he saw…a shape. It was outside…but…it wasn't human…

His heart began to thump hard, and loudly. He'd seen a lot to scare him, monsters and hideous zombies were pretty bad, but this was something above zombies…it wasn't the same kind of fear. Zombies and monsters were very real, but this was something on the verge of dreams, something dark and unreal.

_Please say this is a dream _he thought as he saw the shape begin to press the side of the tent _Please say that I'll wake up in a minute, that this experience will be over…_

He nearly gasped, and tried to hold in any exclamations.

"Claire…" he whispered.

No response.

He nudged the sleeping form of Claire, and very slowly she came to. Claire blinked softly, and turned to him.

"What's…up?"

She saw his pallid expression, his fearful face.

"What?" she asked.

He grabbed her, pulled her close to him, and pointed at the tent wall.

She turned, and the colour drained from her face.

"Oh god…" she whispered, feeling her own heart begin to pound as the thing outside began to press harder against the tent wall.

"Go" he whispered "Grab your bag and go"

He pushed her, and at that moment, everything happened at once. The tent shook, as if in an earthquake or savage storm, and both of them, scared as they had ever been, grabbed what they could and belted out of the tent door, into the velvety dangerous night.

Leon kept his eye on Claire as they ran, his heart thumping loudly. He heard Claire's gasps, her terrified breaths, and felt his own body almost turn limp as he heard from behind them, a giggle. Not an inhuman one…a ghostly, baby's laugh, like a happy child on a summer's day.

It was behind, to his left and right…

Then, suddenly, he felt himself blunder into Claire, both of them tripped and fell over. They immediately grabbed each other, squeezing hard, Leon heard Claire begin to cry into his chest.

"I heard…a baby…a baby…I swear!!" he gasped, through her tears.

"I heard it too…I heard it too…" Leon replied, closing his eyes and holding her tight as the night closed in on them.

END OF PART TWO

** **

Authors note: Sorry about the delay!


	3. The truth, the whole truth and nothing b...

Leon slowly awoke from a nightmare into unfamiliar surroundings

Leon slowly awoke from a nightmare into unfamiliar surroundings. He was half expecting to come to on the leaf mould where he and Claire had fallen, terrified and shivering after running blindly from their tent, in their panic. 

However, he was in what appeared to him to be a fairly simple hut. Walls made out of wood and straw, floor of stamped earth, sticks and a rug, and a fire, which was actually quite cosy. In front of him was a large deflated bladder, which he actually found to be their tent.

Leon realised he was wrapped in a blanket, and sat up. He gazed around the room, and across it, was Claire, sleeping soundly.

He blinked and stretched. How did they come to be here?

"Your friend is still asleep" a papery, yet kindly said "It is best if you do not wake her up yet"

Leon stared at the figure that had entered the room. He was, without question, a Native American, darkish skin, dark trousers and a traditional looking jacket. He also had various feathers in his long black hair, and the impression given from him was one of nobility and kindliness, which made Leon relax a bit.

"Okay" Leon replied.

The man stooped, and pushed a wooden bowl into his hands.

"Drink this" the man instructed.

Leon did so. The liquid was hot, but it tasted good. Probably soup, he thought.

"Who…who are you?"

"My name is White Owl, and I have lived here for many years" the man said "Please, follow me" 

Leon stood up slowly, testing his legs, and walked into the next room, which had some rugs plaid down on it. Sitting the down, the man smiled and indicated for Leon to do the same. Various charms and implements were set around, some handmade furniture was also positioned carefully in the room. Leon looked around at these objects with interest.

"Nice little place you have here" Leon remarked.

"Thank you" White Owl said "I think it is nice too"

"So…" Leon said "How did I get here?"

The man settled a little, and leaned forward slightly.

"I found you and your friend in the woods, lying in each others arms. I had detected some evil, and I was out to banish it, when I found you"

"I see" Leon replied.

"I brought you and what I could from your camp back here. I do not usually help strangers, but I can see you are a good person, as is your friend"

"Thank you. We do our best"

White Owl smiled, and chuckled. Then he turned serious.

"May I ask what you were doing out in the woods?"

Leon shrugged.

"What's the point pretending – I'm out here with…my friend, and we're looking for Rustin Parr's house"

"Ah…him" White Owl said "It is best that you do not search for such things"

"Why not?"

There was a short pause.

"There is a great amount of evil in this place. The few members of my tribe who were still here have now gone. I am here to prevent the evil from sullying sacred land"

"Oh I see…I wasn't aware there were many of you guys left anymore"

"Some of us are around in rural areas, untouched by authority"

He shifted position slightly.

"I sense you have a connection to this place"

Leon smiled, and shook his head.

"I don't think so"

"Your friend too. You are both connected to this land in many ways. You may not think it but you are"

"How can we be?" Leon frowned "We've never been here before in our lives!"

"Not in your current lives. But have been before"

Leon cocked his head slightly.

"How do you mean?"

"In a previous life, I detect you were here"

Leon narrowed his eyes.

"How can that be?" 

"It is true" White Owl replied "Many years ago"

Leon rubbed his head.

"Well…I'm not saying I believe you, but if this were true, how would I work it out?"

"From the little contact I have with the townspeople, I have heard there is a town hypnotist"

"Can you help me?"

White Owl looked uncertain.

"There is a way" he said "If you do not wish to see such an unorthodox man"

"We'd rather avoid any intimate contact with the people, if you see what I mean"

White Owl nodded, slowly.

"I see" 

He then stood up, and walked across the room. 

"If you and your friend are quite willing to participate in this simple ritual, then I shall perform it"

"Perform what?" Leon asked.

"It is what is known in your terms as a regression"

There was a scuffling from the next room, and Claire stumbled in. She looked at Leon and smiled.

"Hi Leon" she said.

She turned and saw White Owl turning to her, carrying two small bottles of greenish liquid.

"Who…?"

"Sit down Claire, and I'll tell you all about it" Leon said, patting the ground beside him, and she came to sit down.

White Owl brought her a bowl of soup, and then both of them proceeded to explain to Claire exactly what they'd been talking about.

When they finished, Claire retained her calm composure.

"So…" Claire said, uncertainly "You say we've got this 'connection' to this place, which is supposedly saturated with evil…and we don't know what it is, so you want us to go through some kind of ritual to find out what"

"That is so" White Owl said.

"I'm not too sure of it myself" Leon said, turning to Claire "But…I'm willing to give it a shot"

Claire still looked a little uncertain.

"Is it safe?"

"Perfectly" White Owl said.

Claire thought for a few moments, and then nodded.

"Okay" she said "But can we do this together?"

She placed her hand on Leon's.

He smiled, and stroked her hand.

"Yeah" he announced.

_A forest. The Black Hills Forest? I think so…I look for Claire…I can't see her. But I can hear her voice._

_Leon? Is that you?_

_It's me! I can't see you!_

_Me neither…perhaps that's the idea…_

Then suddenly we're in a village. It's a fairly rickety town, made out of wood. There's some shops, and several houses. There are people around. But they're wearing clothes from the last century, men wearing fairly simple clothes and farm clothes, while the ladies wear simple dresses and those white shawls on their heads. A god fearing town…

Yes, there is a church.

Claire?

Yeah?

What is this place?

I…don't know…but it seems familiar…

I know…

Then we're in a home. It's like every other place in town: simple. There's a kitchen like place, a hearth, rug, wooden seats…in the kitchen there's a young lady, about 19 or 20 cutting up vegetables.

I'm getting a close look at her.

She has reddish auburn hair, falling loose over her shoulders. Even without the ponytail, I recognise the face and demeanour.

Claire…it's you.

I know! But…how can it be?

Suddenly, the door opens.

A male voice.

"Catherine…I needed to see you…"

Then the woman turns, and her face immediately becomes happy, she runs towards the figure. The figure is wearing a long coat, with some religious charms hanging around his neck, and some rough trousers and shirt beneath that. His face…oh my god…

Leon, that man is you!

Oh god.

"Lee…It's been like a lifetime…"

They kiss, deeply and passionately.

"I know I'm not supposed to do this…but if I didn't…I'd feel as if I was betraying myself"

They hold hands.

"I think that if the Reverend ever found out that a simple peasant girl was in love with a witch-hunter, he'd go mad"

"You're not a simple peasant girl…" he touches her face "…You're special"

They hold each other.

Then, she takes him to the next room, and removes his coat, and he begins to loosen her dress as they kiss more passionately…

I've seen enough.

Leon's eyes were open in a moment, and for some reason he was taking rapid breaths.

"I…I…saw…myself…but it couldn't have been me…"

"You see?" White Owl smiled, not triumphantly but in a relaxed fashion.

Leon turned to Claire.

"I saw you!"

"Ditto!" Claire said equally as astonished "It was so weird…there was me, dressed like a peasant girl, and you…a witch-hunter?"

"I don't get that" Leon said "How long ago do you think it was?"

"I don't know…it might have been Burkittsville…or even Blair"

Leon and Claire knew what that meant: a witch-hunter, the town of Blair…it meant one thing.

"Have you heard of the Blair Witch?" they asked in unison.

White Owl nodded.

"Yes, but I know little of it. It is not a subject close to me"

"I see" Leon said, even though he didn't see at all. They had come here looking for Umbrella. Now it was personal. Umbrella had been there looking for, of all things, a legendary entity who may not even exist.

"Well" Claire said, patting Leon on the back "I say we get going. We've got a long walk back"

"Yeah. We'll try Rustin Parr's house another time"

Leon turned to White Owl.

"Thank you for everything, White Owl"

"My pleasure. Have a safe journey my friend"

White Owl smiled.

Holiday Inn

7:00pm

Claire flopped down onto the bed, exhausted.

"I'm so tired" Claire moaned "I need to rest"

"Me too" Leon said, sitting down onto the bed that they now shared. There was a short silence.

"Um…Leon" she asked, edging closer "What…does this mean to you? The whole thing, I mean. Regarding Blair and…ourselves"

"It means something to me…but its difficult to put my finger on it" he replied.

"Lee and Catherine…not that far from our own names" Claire remarked, smiling "Perhaps…in another life we were…were…" 

She blushed, her cheeks tinted pink.

"Lovers" Leon finished the sentence for her, touching her cheek "Claire…I hope you know that…I really do care…because I love you"

Claire stared up into his honest eyes.

"I…I…"

He kissed her, very gently on the lips.

"I…love you too" she replied.

"Um…what about Steve?"

She looked away slightly.

"I didn't know him enough" she said, after a while "I cared for him I guess…but I guess he had too many character flaws to be a decent boyfriend"

They both giggled a little.

"But…he did die. He wanted to protect me…but as I've grown to know you…" she looked into his eyes again "I saw something I felt I'd never seen before…a softness I loved yet a ferocity that I felt safe with…I loved it…" She wrapped her arms around him "Leon…say you'll be there for me"

"I'll always be there…" he whispered, allowing her to fall into his arms as he kissed her sweet smelling hair "…And I'll die to protect you"

Burkittsville Records Office

10:00am

The main records room of the Burkittsville Records office was large, smelly and not a particularly pleasant looking place. There was one window, which allowed a limited amount of light into the grey room, with thousands of alphabetical papers in Chronological order stretching away, with several sub rooms leading off into the older file rooms.

"Looking up first names is harder than surnames" a very dour and musty looking clerk informed them "It would be best if you did"

"Well I don't think we've got a surname" Leon pointed out as both he and Claire followed the clerk to the earliest area of the records office.

"I can allow you two hours" the clerk said "No more"

He briskly walked off, leaving Claire and Leon to their research. 

"That's what I call brusque" Leon said to Claire as they started, alphabetically though the yellowish, dusty files. 

"How are we going to find two citizens of Blair with only first names to go on?" Claire asked, as they began searching through the files of nearly two and a half centuries before, most of which gained from birth certificates kept by the town's council.

"I don't know…" Leon replied "But somehow…I know that we will"

He felt as if possessed by a spirit, felt the tingling feeling flow through his body as he rifled through the files. Somehow, he knew where to look.

_Kiery. Kiery. Kiery…_

'Why that name?' he thought, as he flicked through to 'Kiery' in the index.

Leon pulled the file he suddenly realised he was looking for out in a belch of dust. He coughed in the dusty cloud, before wafting it away with his hand. It had been altered recently, a picture was stapled to the top corner which read at the top 'Reproduced and digitally enhanced from an original portrait from Blair in 1790' 

Somehow, he wasn't surprised to see that the picture was almost a reflection of him. Of his face. An almost perfect copy of him.

And the name, in small handwritten script read 'Lee Kiery'

He'd found his past self. 

"Leon…"

Leon turned to see Claire looking at him solemnly with a sheaf of papers in her hand.

"Catherine Wheaton" she said, simply as Leon looked at the picture.

A portrait. It was Claire. At least it looked like Claire. It was the Catherine in the flashback. As the picture of Lee Kiery was the same as both him and in the flashback.

"We've found them haven't we?" Claire said, softly "Our past incarnations"

Leon nodded.

"We have. I think it's time to pay a visit to the museum. We've got some more work to do…and then after that…"

Claire nodded firmly.

"To Rustin Parr's house we will go. I thought the same thing"

Leon smiled.

"Come on…destiny's calling" 


End file.
